The Art of Ellen Rebarber and Bill Giacalone – January 12 – February 13, 2014

Artist Ellen Rebarber

Ellen is a sculptor, working with a variety of materials, including metal, wood, stone, cement, plaster, clay, glass and most recently acrylite. She welds, solders, enjoys making clay raku sculpture and loves to design fused glass jewelry and platters. Ellen is a risk taker reaching as far as she can, so to create beautiful objects that are pleasing to her and to others through sharing and exhibiting her work.

Throughout her adult life, Ellen’s eagerness to learn inspired her to continue her art education so to enhance her development as an artist. She studied under George Segal, the sculptor, who made a profound impression on her and influenced her work. There, she learned about form, texture, composition, painting, drawing, art and music. “He really taught me how to see and comprehend our surroundings, for which I am grateful.” After retirement from teaching in Highland Park, Ellen enrolled in sculpture classes at Middlesex County College as well as Mason Gross School of Visual Arts at Rutgers University. She also studied with Rudy Serra, who was very inspirational and encouraging to her. Ellen works diligently in her home studio where she spends much of her time. She recently completed a commission for an indoor water fountain for the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development in New Brunswick, NJ, . Ellen has works in private collections throughout the metropolitan area and is available for commissions.

Artist Bill Giacalone

Bill Giacalone is a painter, illustrator and sculptor. He is extremely prolific and has created hundreds of works and has exhibited in galleries throughout U.S. and abroad. His ever evolving style ranges from the avant garde to bold expressive imagery, often using the female figure as a favored subject. He has been inspired by such artists as Max Beckman, Modigliani, and Henri Matisse. “I work in vivid colors, the object is to create movement, vibration by juxtaposition of color. The interplay at the color boundaries is as important to my work, as the flow of the design itself. My intention in my work is to create a painting that exudes sensuality, voluptuousness and sexuality, not explicitly, but not subtly either. No matter how much I distort and abstract the figure, is should still feel erotic and seductive.”

As a child, Bill was raised on an anarchist colony in Stelton, New Jersey. There, he experienced educational and intellectual freedom and was exposed to the writings of Hippolyte Haval, Emma Goldman, Harry Kelly and others. He developed an artistic aptitude early on, which set the stage for his life as an artist. Later, his experiences in the U.S. Navy during WWII, along with his renewed faith in Judaism and raising a family also influenced his work. He attended the Art Students League and studied under Harry Sternberg, Will Barnet, Eugene Karlin amongst others. Bill has also had his artwork published in numerous books and magazines, including “The Art of Making Love” (1992 Prometheus Books.) Forever creative and progressive, Bill’s art continues to unfold.